Is Australia Back?

Time to take another look at the wines of Australia

And if I may be so bold, might I also suggest less attention on Shiraz and all the baggage it carries with it and more focus on things like often devastatingly good dry Riesling, delicious Grenache, and some impressive Cabernets that are instantly recognizable as such. It’s time to recognize Australia as a diverse wine producing country that can’t be pigeon holed. It’s not all ginormous, alcoholic, and dense. Australian wines can also be perfumed, even delicate, and nuanced, a direction more and more consumers seem to be headed in.

If it is power you want and enjoy, there are few wines that can equal a good Australian Shiraz, and I respect that. They are not my thing, but they are appealing to many people and just to reinforce the notion of diversity within Australia there are Shiraz, grand and small, that ring my bell as well. So if you’re not a fan of Australian Shiraz, maybe give a few more a try, but don’t cross Australia off your list just because the media have conflated Australia with Shiraz. There really is so much more to Australia than Shiraz, but if due to nothing more than availability, it’s a great place to start.

What follow focuses on Shiraz, but in an effort to broaden our horizons I’m not only including Shiraz based blends below but want to kick things off with the best of the rest. Four wines that help to illustrate how great Australian wines can be when we move beyond Shiraz.

Quite fruity on the nose with spicy herbal shadings to the core of raspberry and tart strawberry tops aromas all framed with a hint of toasty oak. In the mouth this has the intensity of Grenache which can be be powerful and rich but not weighty, in fact a bit hollow at times like a giant balloon of strawberry fruit which fills your mouth with good acidity and a faint suggestion of sweetness accentuating the fruit. The tannins are soft yet offer some support particularly on the moderately long juicy fruit finish. Fruity like it’s supposed to be. 87pts

Fresh and fruity on the nose with nice red cherry scents ovr hints of green herbs and some floral edged soil tones. In the mouth this is focused and bright with strawberry and red cherry fruit nicely accented with a hint of wood spice and some fresh green herbal tones. The acidity and tannins are well managed leaving this rather smooth and supple in the mouth, with the balance to drive the moderately long, fruity finish. 88pts

People don’t get the brilliance of these dry rieslings because they are so rarely encountered with this sort of age on them. Here we have an example with perfect provenance, winery direct in fact. Smoky on the nose with an almost custardy edge to the core of crabapple that is framed by subtle honey and green tea notes. On entry this remains youthful and bright with huge acids supporting rich apple fruit that is framed with notes of mineral, candied grapefruit peel and vibrant lime leaf flavors. the finish is long and still fruit driven with the rapier acidity offering firm cut through the finale. This is great today and promises to improve for quite a few more years to come. 92pts

Lightly oaky at first on the nose but air brings out lovely spicy, black cherry and black currant fruit that is lyered over lovely dried chili aromas all topped with earthy nuance and a whiff of eucalyptus.In the mouth this is powerful yet, elegant and refined with superb clarity to the fresh black fruits on the palate that yeild to a lovely red fruit and orange peel scented finish. The bright acids and soft, rounded tannins lend this it’s elegance and support the bright fruit flavors through the finish which shows great focus but could be a tad longer. Still a compelling bottle of Cabernet. 93pts

Mentioned in this article

Comments

Descriptors like "ripe, jammy, lush, rich" (to name but a few), this only convinces me that the basic problems with the Australian craze have not been addressed. These reviews suggest they are still overripe, overly alcoholic, not age worthy and not worth the $$ many still ask. In addition to the loss of distinction between expensive and inexpensive (why pay $100 for an overly-extracted wine when you can get one for $20), it was the RP effect--huge scores for wines which, after a short time in cellars (including mine), were finished. Too ripe, too hot and not balanced to drink, let alone age.

can i point out that all but one wine in your list (i think) is from barossa/eden valley! if you want more restrained less jammy wines-buy from cooler climate producers! try, margaret river (earthy and med body, maybe some mint), great southern (dark, brooding savoury fruit), tasmania (try glaetzer-dixon) and victoria (espec. grampians, alpine valley, beechworth regions). in the same way as many of the best wines of france or usa never make it here- same goes here. look into; plantagenet, leeuwin estate, castle rock est., frankland estate, forest hill, faber, xanadu etc. and theyre just some of the gems from the west coast. ok, ul have trouble getting many of them, but have u looked? good drinking.

cu creek, could you name any of the producers and vintages to which you refer..and how many of them DONT come from barossa valley? i agree with your general sentiment in respect to wines from that region..otherwise no! (see my comment above)

gerrard,
At first glance there are as many wines from Mcclarenvale as anywhere. Shingleback are also Mcclarenvale, Their best shiraz is The Gate and D block. I agree with you about Grampions, very under-rated particularly Langi Ghirran.
philip

First, I have enjoyed this exchange. Unlike many website comment sections, this is civil, pleasant and informative. Just people interested in the subjects at hand. I will stipulate areas other than Barossa (and sometimes McClaren Vale) can make very different wines. I was responding to the wines in this report, since that is what was presented. And this article highlights the problem: by the choice of wines, it reinforces the perceptions, and the wines most often encountered. Cheers to all.

There are many, many mid-tier restaurants in Australia which still allow (encourage ?)people to bring their own wine. I took a bottle of shiraz with me to an Afghannee reataurant last night. (Charging a corkage fee of $10 to $30 per bottle,)In contrast to most of the Western world. The upshot of this is 95% of all wine bought in Australia is drunk the day it is bought, the vast majority within two hours of being bought. (I have three clients in the wine industry, I know more about the wine industry than I do about wine.) This seems a fairly insignificant point but in practice it is a great influence on the market. The emphasis is to produce wines drunk straight from the shelf and not for collectors to put down for a number of years.

We have the richest 2 year old horse race in the world, it could be argued that culturally we don't have a lot of patience and we want to get on with things straight away.

I think some of you guys had better spend some dosh and get acquainted with phase 2 of wines and their diversity in Australia. You are only replicating old Bob P stereotypes . I travel the world and the mid tier and above wines of the country are sensational. And there are terroirs of great substance ( and e,enhance ) in each quality region including Barossa and Eden Valleys. In any case good wine is good wine beyond stigmatization.